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Timeline: Gay Marriage In Law, Pop Culture And The Courts

NPR Staff

Updated: 4 years ago.

Mike McConnell (left) and Jack Baker -- the couple in the Baker v. Nelson case attempt to get a marriage license in Minneapolis in May 1970. The AP reported in December 2012 that the two are still together.

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As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to weigh two cases dealing with gay marriage, here's a look at how the debate has touched American life over the last four decades:

1972

In Baker v. Nelson, the U.S. Supreme Court dismisses a challenge of a ruling from Minnesota that gay couples have no constitutional right to marry, saying the appeal fails to raise a "substantial federal question."

1973

Maryland becomes the first state to define marriage as a union of one man and one woman.

The American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality from its list of mental disorders.